Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Group recorded double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2017, with revenues hitting €910 million ($989.8 million), up 13% year-on-year from 2016’s €802 million ($872.4 million), the company announced Thursday.

Adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA both saw growth of 10% to €88 million ($95.7 million) and €188 million ($204.5 million), respectively.

The group has seen accelerated revenue momentum in the past year thanks to new acquisitions that are expected to further strengthen growth in 2017, with the company anticipating record earnings for the year.

Speaking on a conference call Thursday morning, ProSiebenSat.1 CEO Thomas Eberling and deputy group CFO Ralf Gierig said they expected to see “at least a high single-digit Group revenue growth” across the full year.

“We’re very pleased with the first quarter,” Eberling said. “All segments have contributed to growth, but the star is the digital ventures and commerce unit, which has accelerated our revenue growth and sustainably strengthened the earnings base of the Group.”

The company’s digital ventures and commerce business delivered a substantial contribution due to both organic growth of 14% and recent acquisitions, including an online dating partnership with Parship and ElitePartner, which made the biggest contribution to the company’s growth in the first quarter of this year. External revenues in the digital ventures and commerce business were up a massive 53% from €150 million ($163.2 million) in Q1 2016 to €229 million ($249.2 million).

Related

ProSiebenSat.1’s content production and global sales unit also saw strong growth, generating €78 million ($84.9 million) in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 24% year-on-year. The company said this revenue growth was largely organic with both the global sales business and production companies in the U.S. performing well.

Eberling said advertising revenues in TV markets remained stable, although the company had slightly revised its growth estimates for the sector’s full year from 2-3% down to 1.5-2.5%. “Based on what we know and encouraging comments from the market we expect a back-loaded 2017,” said Eberling, who added that television remained the undisputed advertising medium of choice.

He also spoke to the importance in continuing dynamic growth in the company through partnerships and acquisitions, highlighting ProSiebenSat.1’s first-quarter partnership deal with U.S. lifestyle channels business Scripps Network Interactive, as well as more recent deals for a joint OTT streaming venture with Discovery Communications and the acquisition of Austrian broadcaster ATV in early April. Eberling said the acquisition of ATV had given ProSiebenSat.1 a 42% share of the advertising market in Austria, which he described as “a very robust position to continue our reach in that market.”

Eberling concluded the company continued to be “well on track” to reach 2018 revenue and profitability targets. The company aims to generate consolidated revenues of €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion) in 2018, with the digital business expected to contribute €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion). It has already achieved approximately 70% of its medium-term revenue growth target for the end of 2018.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

It’s tape night on the set of “Abby’s,” located behind one of the homes built on the fabled Universal Studios backlot. As the night falls and a chill sweeps in, the NBC comedy’s producers are facing the kinds of obstacles that no other multi-camera sitcom has likely ever confronted. Out come the dewdrops, crickets, helicopters, [...]

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke revealed that she suffered from two brain aneurysms that nearly took her life in the early years of the blockbuster HBO series. Clarke spoke about her health scare for the first time in a personal essay published in the New Yorker on Thursday morning. Just before she assumed her [...]

Comcast said it would unveil “Flex,” a hub for its Internet-only customers that allows them to stream and purchase shows and movies, the latest effort by a traditional cable provider to latch on to customers who are migrating to broadband services, The Philadelphia cable giant will also make free, ad-supported services available via the service, [...]

Fourteen-year-old skateboarding star and two-time world champ Brighton Zeuner will be the focus of a feature documentary by Imagine Documentaries and Zero Point Zero, Variety has learned exclusively. Described as a coming-of-age story, the film will document Zeuner’s childhood, personal and professional relationships, and road to earning a spot as a member of the 2020 [...]

The iconic red-caped, white-bonneted outfits worn by Elisabeth Moss and the other childbearing servants in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” created by costume designer Ane Crabtree, have become that show’s signature visual. Hulu immediately knew it had a good thing, hiring groups of women around the country to parade in the garments to promote the show. [...]

Netflix global marketing chief Stephen Bruno has exited his post for MGM, where he has been named chief marketing officer. His departure follows that of Netflix CMO Kelly Bennett and marks a major shake-up for the streaming giant. Bruno had been with the streamer since 2014, and is known as an innovator. He joins MGM [...]

The pilot for the planned “Dark Tower” series adaptation currently in the works at Amazon has cast two lead roles. Sources say that Jasper Pääkkönen and Sam Strike have both been cast in the pilot, which is based on the Stephen King book series of the same name. Strike will play Roland Deschain, also known [...]